The Start of WillowClan
by The WillowClan Desk
Summary: Happy anniversary, WillowClan. And have a merry Christmas, too!


**_You won't get a lot of this if you aren't in WillowClan. The story comes from this thread: topic/102544/75456685/1/WillowClan-Event-Tell-Me-A-Story  
_**

**_Yep, the anniversary of our forum was on December 19th. Congratulations, WillowClan!_**

**_Thank you to everyone who helped:_**_ ponyiowa, Cherry Is Floating In Oblivion, Fire in the Willows, S. Flame Eve, Shadows of the Sky, Simply Jay, Huntress of Sacred Dreams, I'm Lurking On Your Forum, Fallen Dewdrops, Autumn Leaf Ninja, The Dreamily Innocent Elf, SwimmerGurl-HuntressofArtemis, pixeljam, Leopardfield of SnowClan, Waffle dah Cat, The Gone Angel, The FRAY (it edits out your name if "FRAY" is spaced out), and ShoutFinder.**  
**_

* * *

_Long ago, when the territories were still rugged and uncivilized, another Clan was born…_

Once upon a time, a cat decided to_ create_.

No, not like that.

By forming a group of friends, a place where there could be laughter and fun.

And so with a few close friends of her own, she set out to complete her goal.

The black-pelted she-cat staked out a place, and with her friend, Rain, they made their home below the willows. Many names were suggested and then tossed out, but they finally dubbed it **_WillowClan._**

They played happily in their little hollow, but soon felt that more was needed.

And so they began to truly make the place theirs.

The she-cat prowled around and found some leaves, scatterings of moss, and birds' feathers. She brought them back, and Rain agreed that these would be necessary to make their new home nice. One of the cats who had decided to settle in, Flame, immediately jumped into her new nest, making feathers fly and everyone laugh.

The black-furred she-cat looked around and found their home to be very comfy.

The only thing was...where were all the cats?

She looked at Flame, and Rain, and told them that she would be gone for a while.

The she-cat soon found her friends, Silence and Song, and asked them if they would come join the new Clan. One of few words, Silence nodded her dark head. Song agreed enthusiastically, and the three cats traveled back to the camp, where they were greeted happily.

The Clan thrived, and the dark-pelted she-cat soon decided to let them all have true warrior names. She called herself Nightstar after that. Rain became Rainfall, and the new deputy; Flame became Flameheart; Silence became Silentstep; and Song became Brightsong.

After a while, the previously unmentioned apprentices became warriors: Tawnyfire, Cherrynose, and Jayflight.

But at this time, the leader was distracted by another strange group of cats, and went off to find it and didn't come back for a few weeks. At last Brightsong tracked her down and told her to come back to WillowClan, which the leader shamefully did.

* * *

A ginger she-cat glanced at the forming camp. A low purr rumbled from her throat, as her green gaze flickered from the camp to Rain and the black-furred she-cat.

Flame, being the lax cat she was, lay down without a care in the world. Though her loner days were at an end, she would conserve energy as did back then.

The conflicts of Clan life sometimes came to be too much for Flame, who was now Flameheart. She temporarily left. It was like a short vacation, but came back soon after.

The life of WillowClan and its calling was forever ringing in her ears.

Flameheart randomly mused words of nonsense to her leader Nightstar. The black she-cat was usually found in a hole she dug and buried herself in or hiding in a river.

Flameheart being the silly cat she was gave up and slept in a very prickly thorn patch, dozing off without a care in the world. She dreamt of teasing Jayflight with her annoying paw-pokes.

* * *

A self-named rogue wandered about a nearby Twolegplace, which was polluted with horrible stories. The young she-cat did not yet know how she would later help clean it, along with other cats.

The dark-pelted she-cat asked her to join the Clan, Cherrypaw said, "Uh, sure." She thought, _I'll probably never be there anyway, but I might as well indulge her._

And it turned out that, Cherrypaw, now called Cherrynose, became the deputy.

* * *

A stray rogue wandered in. Her contribution to the Clan _was_ indeed amazing. She helped with the naming of new apprentices, and often aided in the hard work of finding out what color some of the cats were (quite a few came to WillowClan covered in mud and twigs).

Her name was Jayflight.

* * *

A random she-cat wandered by. After all the time spent wondering if they would accept her, she finally asked to join. She was accepted.

The red-brown she-cat made good friends with the white-and-dark ginger cat, and with Stormclaw, and with the dark-pelted leader. She began making a notch for herself.

Fireleaf's younger sister eventually joined, because of all the wonderful things her sister told her. It didn't really matter because the little brown she-cat was lazy and inattentive to the Clan.

* * *

Then later on, a dark gray tom who had been wandering his own after being dismissed from another Clan was asked to join. And so he came and settled down.

This cat, Stormclaw, came and went, never fully staying for a while. He watched all the new arrivals come, but he didn't speak much. He was alone with his thoughts, which was how he liked it.

He wandered by himself with his thoughts, but always came back to WillowClan.

* * *

A rogue she-cat, forever wandering the world, passed by the ever-growing WillowClan. A bit hesitant at first, she slowly warmed up to the idea of a Clan. She would always be a rogue at heart, and leave from time to time, but she would always return to the other cats at some time or another. Her name was Artemis.

* * *

A brown-pelted she-cat looked curiously into this WillowClan, and wondered to join or not. She got in finally, and was yelled at for breaking the rules. The golden she-cat, who was quite dumb back then, wondered, _What in the StarClan? _Finally, she listened again to the rules and understood the meaning, fixing her wrong ways at once in respect.

* * *

Another rogue had wondered in on this strange Clan, wanting the awesome life that all the others had. She persuaded them to let her join, and at first she did not fit in at all. She hissed and growled, and often fought.

Though she made lots of friends, the dark reddish-brown tabby rogue often thought about leaving, until she finally put aside her differences and became a true member of WillowClan. She had no apprentice name, but began to enjoy the strange Clan. Although she often still bickered with Jayflight, she felt like a part of WillowClan and enjoyed its awesomeness.

* * *

Another loner came upon the Clan, sick of being alone and fighting for life. So she asked to join and was accepted.

* * *

Honeycloud, a golden she-cat with amber eyes, began to show her inner fire by constantly arguing with other members every once in a while, and fiercely defending her side of arguments against the Clan.

* * *

Yet another loner stumbled upon this Clan. She considered the idea of joining and abandoning her life as a loner for a long time before reaching a decision. Thankfully she was accepted. At first the Clan seemed strange to her, she didn't understand their ways. Her name was Dew.

* * *

Another nameless loner, a lithe white she-cat who was new to the area, came across this mysterious WillowClan. She hesitantly padded her way in, nervous about starting a new life.

In no time, however, she was an excited member of WillowClan, a bit annoying but funny and enthusiastic. She wasn't afraid to try new things inside the Clan, and jumped into it like she did this all the time.

* * *

A different rogue, a young she-cat with a short, brown pelt, came across WillowClan in her hunt for a safer home than the dreadful Twolegplace of her kitting. Having been separated from her family after she was kitted, she was looking for a safe home to reside in. She found that... in WillowClan.

She took on the name Leafpaw.

Leafpaw often found herself forgetting the names of her Clanmates. Earlier this day, she had forgotten the aforementioned white she-cat's former name from before she joined the Clan. But she was learning.

However, Leafpaw found it much easier to remember Artemis's name. She never wondered why.

* * *

A bengal loner from far away heard a calling to WillowClan in a dream. Because she had always wanted to join a Clan she traveled very far to find it. Once she arrived she realized she didn't fit in at all.

* * *

A tall golden she-cat joined the ranks, confused by everyone's names and slightly overwhelmed. She had joined other Clans, but this one was new, and she was afraid that she would make a mistake and be thrown out.

The new she-cat watched patiently as other cats went up and received names. She wondered vaguely if she would get hers at some point.

* * *

Then, suddenly, there was a small tabby had known about WillowClan for moons, but had not dared to join. However, she soon met the Clan's leader, who was pretty badarse. This made the tabby feel much better, especially after seeing many friends at WillowClan. After exploring the Clan a bit, she decided to join on the very last day of leaf-fall.

She came up with a small poem to commemorate it.

* * *

Not long after did the first deputy resign from her position. It was a long, hard decision before finally Cherrynose was made the new second-in-command. Many cats congratulated her, but no one was more proud than Nightstar herself.

At the same ceremony as Cherrynose's, the nameless red tabby was called up, as well. She was given a name: Cloverpaw. She liked it very much.

The brown and white rogue was also made an apprentice, but she was not given her new name. She liked being an apprentice, but would also like a name.

* * *

**~*End*of*background*stories*~**

Nightstar presided over her Clan, and everything was well, with fun and laughs.

Jayflight implied that Nightstar was an elderly old she-cat, so Nightstar retaliated by ordering that Jayflight's idol, Jayfeather, ran off with Willowshine, leaving Jayflight without someone to worship.

Cherrynose stuck her nose in the conversation and insisted, "NO! HE'S FALLEN IN LOVE WITH BRIARLIGHT AND DRAGGED HER OFF SO THEY CAN BE TOGETHER TO HAVE KITS."

Nightstar subsequently told her that she was becoming very afraid for her. When Cherrynose asked why, the black-pelted she-cat repeated Cherrynose's previous statement and asked if she should elaborate.

Cherrynose promptly yelled that that was not what she had meant, and started chasing after the leader with glittering rocks.

Ashpelt, a new warrior, whined about this new cat that he had to take care of. The she-cat, a loner named Shadow, constantly stole his fur to cushion her nest, as she was also pregnant and Ashpelt had gotten roped into providing sustenance for her. This caused many laughs, some because WillowClan had a loner named Shadow who had recently joined, and at first the warriors thought that their new member was pregnant. When the birth finally came, there was one little kitten, who Jayflight, a warrior, helped name. Shadow, the loner, and her new daughter, Misty, continued to annoy Ashpelt by clinging to his pelt while he tried to clean. Nevertheless, he still took care of them.

They trained in fighting, though they sometimes got too carried away. Fireleaf reprimanded them and got poked in the ribs for it. Whenever that happened, Flameheart dove under a rock and Nightstar frantically tried to get everything peaceful again.

Senior warriors of the Clan made every cat feel at home. Teaching the younger warriors what to do and what not, demonstrating to the apprentices how they should respect all members older than them, and socializing with one another peacefully.

After a hard day's work, the older cats would snuggle together in the den, cozy and warm in the center. Their reputation was known to be without ends. They were enjoying life as they could and learning still about themselves.

* * *

Ashpelt sat in his nest, the one he slept in when he wasn't living in WillowClan. He got put on Misty-watch since Shadow was asleep. Misty ran around chasing everything that moved and Ashpelt kept an eye on her to make sure she didn't get into some place she shouldn't. After a while Ashpelt began to drift off to sleep himself. When he had just closed his eyes he felt something climbing his face; when he looked, he saw it was Misty. The little she-cat purred. Not caring right now Ashpelt shut his eyes again then felt Misty lie down atop his head.

* * *

Jayflight had changed her mind about Jayfeather being her idol. "No worship is right. Jayfeather sucks." She then stalked off to her nest, tail waving the air.

* * *

Ashpelt had gotten into another debate with Cherrynose. After a while Nightstar came along and started talking about how the need to get along. "You two are always arguing," Nightstar said. "Maybe if you two were together , it would be different."

Both Cherrynose and Ashpelt were shocked by her suggestion. "Are you kidding me?" Ashpelt asked.

"There is no way that is happening," Cherrynose said, whisking her tail defiantly.

And then both Ashpelt and Cherrynose went in opposite directions from each other, at least not arguing for the moment.

* * *

Jayflight left the Clan and came back and left the Clan and came back until she knew it was no good, because she'd always come back one way, or the other.

Upon hearing this, Cherrynose gloated to herself.

Jayflight glanced at the gloating white-and-dark ginger cat and twitched her whiskers in amusement.

Everything was excellent. It was a happy life.

And then greenleaf came...

* * *

Cherrynose tried to her best to maintain peace in the young Clan.

* * *

The dark reddish-brown tabby rogue sat by and suddenly didn't talk or chat as much as she normally did. She sat back and let the other cats handle all the problems.

* * *

After everything was more or less resolved, Nightstar told the WillowClan cats their mentors and apprentices, and was pleasantly surprised to find out that some were quite happy about it.

* * *

Sandpaw grinned as she walked up to her mentor. "Honeycloud, when are we starting hunting, eh?" Watching her mentor give quips and remarks, she couldn't help but feel Nightstar had chosen well.

In another part of camp, Goldenpaw bounded up to her new mentor, her whiskers quivering in excitement. All the time waiting, all of the time she had endured in painful patience had come down to this. She was finally an apprentice and she finally had a mentor, Lightstreak!

In her nest, Fireleaf smiled when Nightstar _finally _told her the name of her apprentice. Of course, she'd only been asking for six moons...

* * *

It was now leafbare. Things were looking up, but there was no telling if they would survive. Nightstar looked over her Clan, her thoughts full of worries and ways to help them flourish. In the land of FFN, leafbare wasn't the deadliest season-all of them were. At any time, at any moment, at any second, Clans could die.

Fade away.

Never be thought of again.

_Disappear._

Nightstar traveled through the land, trying to make her Clan's name known. Were her efforts in vain? She wasn't sure, but she would try anyway. It was a dear home to her, and to others, she hoped. Cherrynose, Jayflight, Honeycloud, Goldenpaw, and so many others-she was lucky to know them.

She knew she wasn't the best leader. She often forgot things, and sometimes just wanted to run away and hide in her den until everything was all right again. There was a facade over her features, masking her thoughts, and emotions.

She regretted the times she had become lost and forgotten about WillowClan. Perhaps it would be different, if she hadn't disappeared those times.

But she had come back, hadn't she?

She had. And if it happened again, she would come back. She always would.

And she would never give up the fight.

THE END

* * *

Oh, and a small Christmas song:

_On the first day of Christmas, FFN sent to me a blue Jay in a pear tree!_

___On the second day of Christmas, FFN sent to me two sharpened crayons, and a blue Jay in a pear tree!_

_On the third day of Christmas, FFN sent to me three owls, two sharpened crayons, and a blue Jay in a pear tree!_

___On the fourth day of Christmas, FFN sent to me four cherry bombs, three owls, two sharpened crayons, and a blue Jay in a pear tree!_

___On the sixth day of Christmas, FFN gave to me six phoenixes lurking, five Random threads, four cherry bombs, three small owls, two sharpened crayons, and a blue Jay in a pear tree._

___On the seventh day of Christmas, FFN gave to me seven smurfs singing, six phoenixes lurking, five Random threads, four cherry bombs, three small owls, two sharpened crayons, and a blue Jay in a pear tree._

___On the eigth day of Chrstmas, F____FN _ gave to me eight fanfics worth reading, seven smurfs singing, six phoenixes lurking, five Random threads, four cherry bombs, three small owls, two sharpened crayons, and a blue Jay in a pear tree.

___On the ninth day of Christmas, F____FN _ gave to me nine bowties on fire, eight fanfics worth reading, seven smurfs singing, six phoenixes lurking, five Random threads, four cherry bombs, three small owls, two sharpened crayons, and a blue Jay in a pear tree.

___On the tenth day of Christmas, F____FN _gave to me ten changed pen names, nine bowties on fire, eight books worth reading, seven smurfs singing, six phoenixes lurking, five Random threads, four cherry bombs, three small owls, two sharpened crayons, and a blue Jay in a pear tree.

___On the eleventh day of Christmas, F____FN _ gave to me eleven cups of cocoa, ten changed pen names, nine bowties on fire, eight fanfics worth reading, seven smurfs singing, six phoenixes lurking, five Random threads, four cherry bombs, three small owls, two sharpened crayons, and a blue Jay in a pear tree. 

___On the twelth day of Christmas, F____FN _ gave to me twelve married ponies, eleven cups of cocoa, ten changed pen names, nine bowties on fire, eight fanfics worth reading, seven smurfs singing, six ___phoenixes _ lurking, five Random threads, four cherry bombs, three small owls, two sharpened crayons, and a blue Jay in a pear tree.

* * *

**That is all.___  
_**


End file.
